Some countries, such as the United States and Canada, require medical students to complete their undergraduate before entering medical school, necessitating eight or more years of education. On the other hand, many other countries treat medical school as an undergraduate programme, and only require five or six years of schooling.

Medical school programmes in Europe and Australia are pretty standardised: Medical students need to complete six years of undergraduate study, plus an internship, in order to become a doctor. The exception is Germany, which requires completion of a five-year programme. The Philippines also offers a "4+4" programme for becoming a doctor, and South Korea recently switched to a similar programme from a six-year undergraduate programme.

In most countries, it is not easy for students to become a doctor in one country and practice in another  Following are your options after the MBBS degree:

With an MBBS degree, you can work at:

• Government or private hospitals
• Nursing homes/clinics/health departments
• Medical services of the army, navy and air force, under the Ministry of Defence
• Charitable institutions

• General Practitioner, Physician
• General Surgeon
• Anesthetist or Anesthesiologists
• Psychiatrist

• Hospital Administration
• Medical Transcription
• Scientific Research
• Cosmetology/Trichology

Your pay as a doctor depends on the organisation you work for, number of hours you can put in, your experience, skill, reputation, the geographic region, and similar factors. The total compensation for a doctor in government hospitals usually includes the salary, bonus, research stipends, bonuses, and other benefits. It is often seen that private practitioners and self-employed doctors have a higher median income. As you will notice in the following table, after a couple of years in this field, your salary increases in leaps and bounds.